Improved LoRaWan Expansion Package for IoT and M2M Applications

LoRa is a wireless communication technology developed to create the low-power, wide-area networks (LPWANs) required for machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet Of Things (IoT) applications. To enable engineers to create better IoT products that operate on LPWAN, STMicroelectronics has updated its I-CUBE-LRWAN Expansion Package for the STM32 family of microcontrollers to cover the latest LoRaWAN 1.0.3 specifications from the LoRa-Alliance.

LoRaWAN 1.0.3 Software For IoT Developers

The I-CUBE-LRWAN expansion package consists of a set of libraries and application examples for the full portfolio of STM32 MCUs, including the ultra-low-power STM32L0, STM32L1, STM32L4 and STM32L4+ series microcontrollers operating in IoT end-devices.

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The new software addresses IoT security with libraries including a dedicated Application Programming Interface (API) to manage Secure Elements, such as the STSAFE-A product family, and enable a range of data-protection capabilities.

To increase application flexibility, the LoRaWAN 1.0.3 update added compatibility with Class B devices. Trading flexibility for power efficiency, the three device classes suit any IoT use cases operating on the unlicensed radiofrequency spectrum from 433MHz to 928MHz, the announcement states.

The upgraded software provides the drivers for the new sx126x Semtech radio and also supports the sx1261dvk1bas, sx1262dvk1cas and sx1262dvk1das shields.

Additionally, the package includes an application suitable to run on NUCLEO-L053R8, NUCLEO-L152RE, NUCLEO-L476RG and B-L072Z-LRWAN1 Discovery kits embedding the CMWX1ZZABZ-091 LoRa/Sigfox module from Murata. The package also supports a USI LoRaWAN technology module through the I-NUCLEO-LRWAN1 expansion board.